At the time when Japan and America meet to clash among the many countries at Worlds, the carefully-made decision of the final decks they use will bring forth two great wills - both of a volcanic, fiery passion - both produced under the teachings (or "as a result of") two countries seeking utter, fervid supremacy over each other (this was basically an intro paragraph and could have been ignored, but I was trying to confuse you guys as much as possible).
Infernape (the sixth one in the Sinnoh PokeDex) and the Japanese may be reborn again (not Infernape, just the Japanese) as the phoenix (in terms of winning the Worlds title again), reclaiming the win they gave to our country three years ago; the goal of the Americans (the "current keepers" of the win) must entail exposing the significance of this message.
If this coming prediction is not understood, the Japanese will use a deck never previously seen in this country (in terms of the way it is used, as I stated in the forum thread)... one no one can fathom... Infernape, possibly combo'd with Salamence ex (I know, Salamence ex? What? That wouldn't work well - I was trying to confuse you guys yet again) and Delcatty ex, or, to a more destructive degree, with a card from its own set (its "own kind").
Basically, the entire message was a warning - the Japanese are going to play a "secret deck" that will throw people off guard, and it is up to people to try to find out what it is. I stated in the forum thread that it could be like Worlds 2004, meaning that the Japanese would play a deck people did not expect, which would catch players off guard. Contrary to what people were believing in the forum thread (who understood the message was talking about a secret deck), I did not know what the deck was (in terms of what makes it special) - I kept trying to emphasize to people that they were missing the reason for the message's existence, which is that it is a warning (of course, I did not state this directly, since it was the entire point of the riddle). It was up to dedicated players to find out themselves what the deck entailed!
Forum members kept focusing on the firedrake and baset, and I kept trying to tell them that those were not the main part of the message. I probably should not have included them in the first place, but I wanted to make the riddle as confusing as possible. The "sixth one (Infernape)" and the overall warning were the main parts - the baset and firedrake were nonessentials, and were just "suggestions" as to what could be combined with "the sixth one" besides the card in its own set. People were missing the general picture, that this message was a warning, and it's probably because I confused them too much by including the firedrake and baset!
Of course, the Japanese did not win the Masters division, but they sure knocked out many people. Contrary to the riddle, it was not Infernape that was the main Pokemon in their deck, either. So why was the riddle focusing on Infernape, and not Empoleon, the main Pokemon in the top Japanese decks?
Now here's where the explanation comes in. Weeks before Worlds started, I asked around to find out what the Japanese would be playing. I have many, many Japanese TCG player contacts, but only four or five of them are really close to people who consistently perform well (such as Yamato) or are themselves players who win all the time. Most of them are usually forthcoming with the Japanese metagame and who is playing what, so it really is not difficult to discover what the Japanese are playing - usually.
In going through my AIM logs over the past half-hour, I spoke to thirteen Japanese TCG players about what their metagame currently is like - an introduction to me asking them what they are bringing to Worlds, which is what the main conversations were about. The most common responses to me asking what the Japanese would be playing at Worlds were Infernape (which EVERY person stated as a possibility), Flygon ex d, and Empoleon (to a lesser degree). Nearly all of them mentioned Infernape, which is popular in Japan in combination with Quick Ball (and a pure Infernape line), but of course, Quick Ball was not out yet in America, and would not be used at Worlds, so Infernape might not be used as much (I should have considered this more before I posted the riddle, since from all of the people telling me the Japanese were playing Infernape, I assumed it to be true).
I was more interested in knowing what Yamato (one of the best Japanese players) was going to play, since he usually does extremely well. Two specific players who know Yamato very well told me specifically that they were not sure if he had made his decision yet on what to bring to Worlds, but that, more than likely, his deck could involve Empoleon (both of them stated Empoleon specifically). He was not going to make his decision until he arrived at Worlds, which is obviously a smart move for any player going, since it is usually best to scout out the area before choosing your deck.
Since they were not very convincing in knowing what he would be playing (although they both said Empoleon, they stressed they were not very sure), this pretty much made their statements unconfirmed to me. No one else had mentioned Empoleon to a great degree, so I dismissed it and went along believing the Japanese would be playing Infernape, since practically every single player I talked to said Infernape would be going to Worlds with their top Japanese players.
Fast forward to the Saturday before I posted the message (a week before the main Worlds competition). At this point, I was only interested in knowing what the Japanese were playing for only my own knowledge. I had no intentions of posting what they would be playing, or telling anyone unless I was asked. I usually like to post predictions of what decks will be used at large events, but since I had not been keeping up with what anyone would be playing other than the Japanese, I might post a prediction that is completely off, so why bother?
Then, this little conversation comes my way (the name of the person IMing me has been cut out). The person I am talking to has always been 100% reliable to me in the past, so I basically took everything he said as true. Little did I know, he was actually telling me (if I interpreted it correctly after looking at it now) the deck that Yamato was playing, without actually naming it. I misinterpreted what he was actually telling me when posting the riddle, and went along with posting Infernape as the main contender in the secret Japanese deck when in actuality, it was not, and was only part of the deck. As everyone knows, Yamato played Empoleon, with a 1/1 line of Infernape. The person I talked to seems to be saying something to this affect.
[23:50] [CUT OUT]: hi
[23:50] *** Auto-response sent to [CUT OUT]: I am currently away from the computer.
[23:50] PokeBeachWebsite: Hola! What's up?
[23:50] [CUT OUT]: i might think what the top-players are using for worlds
[23:50] PokeBeachWebsite: ? Do you mean you might know what your players are playing at Worlds?
[23:50] PokeBeachWebsite: The Masters division, like Yamato and those guys?
[23:51] [CUT OUT]: yeah ;) i heard from (edited out) that gokazaru (the Japanese name for Infernape) is used in the deck with a certain card
[23:51] PokeBeachWebsite: Infernape is going to be used with a certain card?
[23:51] [CUT OUT]: yes, the fire one
[23:52] PokeBeachWebsite: Which card?
[23:52] PokeBeachWebsite: poke
[23:53] [CUT OUT]: its a secret
[23:53] PokeBeachWebsite: If it's a secret, why are you IMing me to tell me? :p
[23:54] [CUT OUT]: sorry talking to many people
[23:54] [CUT OUT]: you asked before about decks
[23:54] PokeBeachWebsite: lol
[23:55] [CUT OUT]: i can't tell but it's from PCGDP (this is the Japanese name for the Diamond and Pearl set)
[23:55] PokeBeachWebsite: Who is using it? Yamato?
[23:55] [CUT OUT]: secret
[23:55] PokeBeachWebsite: XD
[23:56] PokeBeachWebsite: I hate Pokemon secrets - that's why I likee to expose them
[23:56] PokeBeachWebsite: People keep telling me that your players are using Infernape, but they don't tell me with what
[23:56] [CUT OUT]: probaly because they dont know
[23:56] [CUT OUT]: its not a lot in the deck
[23:56] [CUT OUT]: the other one has more from the set its the main one
[23:57] PokeBeachWebsite: Huh? o_O I am completely confused. Stupid language barrier
[23:57] PokeBeachWebsite: Do you mean Infernape is combo'd with cards from the same set, and the card it is used with is a secret?
[23:57] [CUT OUT]: yes
[23:58] PokeBeachWebsite: You already said that, though :p
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: sorry i mean its part of it but the other is the main
[23:58] PokeBeachWebsite: ???
[23:58] PokeBeachWebsite: Hold on, let me see if Bangiras is online - I'll ask her to translate what you are telling me if you want to type it in Japanese
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: um never mind im too tired
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: ;)
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: just wait until after the competition
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: its supposed to be secret
[23:58] PokeBeachWebsite: Can I post about this if I make it really confusing?
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: i dont understand
[23:59] PokeBeachWebsite: Can I post about this, but make it hard for people to understand?
[23:59] [CUT OUT]: oh
[23:59] [CUT OUT]: if you want but dont say me
[23:59] PokeBeachWebsite: Just to confirm: The Japanese are going to combo Infernape with something secret
[23:59] [CUT OUT]: yes a good one
[23:59] [CUT OUT]: people wont see the deck comign the combo is never used
[00:00] [CUT OUT]: ill tell you later for what it is i need to go
[00:00] [CUT OUT]: its hard to find out what it is with its not predctable
[00:01] PokeBeachWebsite: Gotcha! Thank you. :) I'll make a confusing post that says Infernape is going to be combo'd with something secret, like a warning, but they'll have to try to find out what it is themselves.
[00:01] [CUT OUT]: lol, welcome :D
[00:01] [CUT OUT]: GL
[00:01] *** "[CUT OUT]" signed off at Sun Aug 05 00:01:45 2007.
The problem with talking to people who speak another language is that it is difficult to understand what they are trying to tell me - they often speak to me in ways I cannot understand. Sometimes, when I just cannot understand what they are trying to tell me, I ask them to type their messages in Japanese. I then ask Bangiras (our main translator) to translate them for me, which usually gives me a crystal-clear idea of what they are trying to tell me.
Let's review. I posted the riddle because almost everyone I had talked to said that the Japanese were bringing Infernape to Worlds. The reason I posted the riddle was because someone very reliable told me that Infernape, which had been mentioned to me from the beginning, would be used, but in combination with something secret. Even though the Japanese did not win, the top player, Yamato, used Empoleon and Infernape.
His log undoubtedly gave me the final word I needed in knowing the Japanese were playing Infernape, but in reviewing his log now, I understand what he was actually trying to tell me. I have explained some of his messages below from what I believe he was saying.
[23:56] [CUT OUT]: its not a lot in the deck
I didn't realize this before - he was saying "Infernape is not in the deck a lot," which means "Infernape is barely in the deck."
[23:56] [CUT OUT]: the other one has more from the set its the main one
The other secret combo is more present in the deck than Infernape - it is the "main" card.
[23:58] [CUT OUT]: sorry i mean its part of it but the other is the main
He's repeating it again - Infernape is part of the deck, but the other secret combo from the same set is the main card.
[23:59] [CUT OUT]: people wont see the deck comign the combo is never used
[00:00] [CUT OUT]: its hard to find out what it is with its not predctable
The deck is not predictable and the combo is never used.
Final conclusion: The riddle obviously turned out to be wrong, since Infernape was not the main Pokemon in the Japanese decks - Empoleon was. However, the person I talked to on AIM obviously knew what Yamato's deck was. If I had only pushed him a little harder, I probably could have figured it out, but I didn't. Next year, I will know to ask around again so I can report on their metagame and what they will be playing. :)